Hirokazu Ibata went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Tyrone Woods hit a three-run homer to back a strong start by Kenta Asakura as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Hiroshima Carp 8-0 on Tuesday to reduce their magic number to six for clinching the Central League title.
Tigers 4, Swallows 0
At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, Kei Igawa pitched his second complete-game shutout of the season with a three-hitter, and Osamu Hamanaka and Akihiro Yano combined for six hits and three RBIs, lifting Hanshin over Tokyo Yakult.
Giants 5, BayStars 1
At Tokyo Dome, Yoshinobu Takahashi homered and drove in two runs on a 3-for-3 night and Jeremy Powell threw 6 1/3 effective innings against Yokohama as Yomiuri snapped its losing streak at six games.